Zanzibar, the spice island

Zanzibar is a beautiful island in the Indian ocean that lies about 40 kilometers from the Tanzanian coast as well as only 6 degrees below the equator. The spice island is made up of the main island with an almost unknown name of Unguja and a mountainous island Pemba. It's the biggest coral island near the East African coastline. The main island itself is around 85 kilometers long and about 20 to 30 kilometers wide with the overall area being 1660 square kilometers, whereas Pemba is smaller with the area mass being 985 square kilometers.

Both islands are originally coral reefs, which gradually came up with the sea level lowering, and that's the reason why the most known type of rock is the coral rag. The rocky areas in the eastern, northern and southern parts of Zanzibar are covered with a thin layer of sandstone and limestone soil, while in the west and center of the country, the soil is red, rich in iron and quite fertile.

With the name of Zanzibar, you may think of the smell of exotic spices, whose home is here and from the medieval times, they're the most important article of trade between the orient and the west.

The climate is influenced by the Indian ocean's monsoons and the changes between dry and wet periods are distinctive. The northeastern monsoons, sometimes called "kaskazi" appear from November to February, while the southwestern ones named "kusi" come around from June till September. The main rain period begins from the first half of March until the end of May and then for a short interval in November as well. The temperature differences are pretty small all year round with the average daily temperature being around 26°C from June to October and 28°C from December all the way to February, though due to the noticeable amount of humidity, the temperature may seem much higher. The travel season to this destination is June all the way to March the following year.

Oficiální název státu: Official name of the country:

United Republic of Tanzania

Official name of the country: United Republic of Tanzania
Capital city: Zanzibar Town - the historic part is called Stone Town
Government: Plural parliamentary republic
Population: 1 890 000 (2022)
Ethnic groups: Bantu, Arabs and Indians
Official languages: Swahili, Arabic and English
Religion: 99% Islam, 1% Christianity and Hinduism
Currency: 1 Tanzanian shilling (TZS) - 100 cents

Basic phrases:
Hi - Jambo
Good day - Siku njema
Good morning - Asubuhi njema
Good night - Lala salama
Have a nice meal - Chachula chema
Goodbye - Kwaheri
Thank you a lot - Asante sana
Please - Tafadhali
Welcome - Karibu
No problem - Hakuna matata
Yes - Ndio
No - Hapana
How are you? - Habari?
I'm fine - Nzuri